1. Field of the Invention
The device of the present invention relates generally to the field of refilling inkjet cartridges. More specifically, the device of the present invention is a clip that is used to secure an inkjet cartridge so that it may be refilled (or purged). The device may be used to refill an inkjet cartridge by back-flowing ink, under pressure, into the cartridge through the ports on its printhead. The device may also be used to purge a cartridge's printhead by suctioning ink out through it's ports.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are several commercially-available varieties of computer printers. Some use thermal heads. Others use lasers. Perhaps the most common sort of printer, however, uses ink jets.
These inkjet printers are very popular because they may be purchased at relatively low cost. Maintenance on inkjet printers may be expensive, however. The print head and ink container for an inkjet printer are typically included in a disposable unit. These disposable units may be very expensive. In some cases, such a cartridge may be good for printing less than 500 sheets of paper, and cost more than a fourth of the purchase price for the printer in which they are to be used. Considering this, the user may quickly incur maintenance costs which exceed the initial expense for the entire printer.
One reason for the high cost per cartridge is that a new print head is included with each unit. This print head has a useful life multiple times longer than the length of time provided by the ink included. Therefore, when a cartridge is discarded after running out of ink, a still-good cartridge and print head are wasted.
The problem is increased where color cartridges are concerned. Color cartridges typically have three separate color reservoirs. One for each of three primary colors. These colors will tend to run out at different rates. When the first of the three runs out, the user may throw out significant quantities of unused ink in the other two reservoirs.
The manufacturers of these cartridges have not provided the consumer with a way to replenish the ink within these cartridges, or even develop an alternative design in which does not require disposal of the cartridge. Instead, the manufacturers have created a cartridge that is difficult to refill. Thus, there is a great need in the art for methods and devices for refilling spent inkjet cartridges.
Devices exist in the prior art which may be used to refill inkjet cartridges. Syringes have been used. In such cases, a needle is mounted on a syringe. The needle is then dipped in a vial from which ink is drawn. The ink is then injected into an inkjet cartridge by inserting the needle into it and injecting the ink into the cartridges ink reservoir. One example showing this is U.S. Pat. No. 5,515,663 issued to Allgeier, Sr., et al. Allgeier shows the use of a syringe to deliver ink to a cartridge. U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,470 issued to Goldman shows a similar arrangement, except using a needle on a squeeze bottle instead of a syringe.
Clips have been used in the prior art. These clips are used to secure an inkjet cartridge. Once the cartridge is secured, it may be refilled by introducing ink, under pressure, through the ports in the cartridge's printhead. This prior art clip comes with a rubber member. This rubber member engages the printhead and fluidly seals it. This prior art clip also comes with an vertical wall and a horizontally extending wall.
An example of this type of prior art clip may be seen in FIG. 6. Referring to the figure, it may be seen that the clip 110 has upright 120 and horizontal 118 extending sections. Upright member 120 has a recessed rectangular area (not shown) which includes a square aperture (not shown). The square aperture receives a stem 164 on a rubber gasket device 112. Gasket 112 includes a conduit The conduit allows the fluid communication of ink from a syringe (not shown) through the ports on a printhead on an inkjet cartridge (like cartridge 14 disclosed in FIG. 4) for introducing ink into the cartridge via the cartridge's ink ports. This is the known conventional use for the clip 110.
The use of clip 110 for refilling has proved to have its limitations, however. One problem is that the cartridge is difficult to lock in to the clip 110. This is because the horizontally extending portion 118 is very rigid. This rigidity is necessary because once the cartridge is snapped into the clip using a latching assembly 150,152, its printhead must be pressed tightly into gasket 112. Otherwise, the printhead might move, creating problems.
One other problem with clip 110 is that it is sometimes difficult to ensure that its printhead is matched up and held in fluid communication with the conduit (not shown) through gasket 12. This is because, though the printhead on the cartridge is supported from below by the horizontal member 118, there is nothing to retain the top of the cartridges printhead from above. This may create matchup problems with the conduit and printhead ports. It also makes the cartridge more likely to pop out of the clip. If the cartridge comes out of the clip during the refilling process, a mess could be created. Inkjet ink stains horribly, and is impossible to remove from most materials or surfaces.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device and method which involves holding the print head portion of the cartridge securely in the clip, in which the cartridge may be easily clipped and unclipped from the device.
Another need in the art, aside from the need to enable refilling, as already discussed, is to enable the effective unclogging of the ports of a used cartridge. Most inkjet cartridges have a number of orifices at their bottom. These holes are very small, and comprise the ink outlets for the cartridge. The outlets will typically work in one of two ways.
The first type of inkjet technology, called bubble jet, uses thermal energy. In a bubble-jet arrangement, resistors are used to heat the ink and vaporize it. A vaporous bubble is thus created. As this bubble expands, some of the ink is pushed out of the outlets on the printhead at high velocity and accuracy onto the paper. The bubble then pops. This collapse creates a vacuum that serves to pull more ink into the printhead from the cartridge to be heated.
The second method of ink dispersal uses piezoelectric crystals. These crystals are located behind the ink reservoir behind each outlet. A tiny charge is delivered to the crystals that causes them to vibrate. Inward vibrations of these crystals forces ink out through the outlets onto the paper.
Both the thermal and piezoelectric methods are very harsh ways to eject the ink from the outlet ports. Thus, the outlets may degrade, and oftentimes become clogged. Therefore, there is a need in the art for an effective method to purge impurities and clogs in the ports in a manner that enables the cartridge to be held securely while its ports are suctioned clean of debris.